Ascent Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 17.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

AFL stock opened at $108.3520 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.84. The company has a market capitalization of $57.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.15.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.